Harare - President Robert Mugabe warned mourners at
the funeral of a top ruling party official on Sunday that Zimbabwe was
"threatened by treachery from within" and indirectly blamed the country's
former colonial power Britain.

Speaking at the burial of Josiah
Tungamirai, a veteran of Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war and a member of
ruling Zanu-PF's supreme decision-making politburo, Mugabe beseeched
mourners to keep the country out of the hands of "puppets".

The
veteran leader, in power since independence in 1980, routinely criticises
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change as a stooge of Britain,
which he says has sought to oust his government since 2000 over its
controversial seizure of white-owned farms for blacks.

He said on Sunday Zimbabwe was "being threatened by treachery from within
the country, threatened naturally by that treachery as it extends outside
the country and invites our erstwhile coloniser once again to recolonise
us.

"Look after this country. Don't let the puppets take it. This
country is ours for all eternity. Zimbabwe is no home for traitors, for
political stooges, for crooks and political cowards," Mugabe said.
Tungamirai died in neighbouring South Africa where he was receiving
treatment for a kidney ailment. He was the country's first black airforce
chief and minister for indigenisation and empowerment.

Tungamirai's ministry was the main engine of a programme designed to shift
control of Zimbabwe's economy from minority whites to the country's black
majority.

Britain has led international criticism against Mugabe
over the land seizures, which critics say have undermined the key
agricultural sector, and over charges that the ruling Zanu-PF party has
rigged elections since 2000.

ZANU-PF denies the charges, and
accuses its local and foreign opponents of the land reforms of carrying out
a campaign of sabotage against Zimbabwe's economy, leading to chronic
shortages of foreign currency, fuel, record unemployment and
employment.

Critics however say Mugabe, 81, has mismanaged what was
once one of the most promising economies on the continent, leaving the
former food exporter grappling with intermittent shortages.

Harare - Zimbabwe's electricity provider has got the green
light to double tariffs in the latest blow to consumers grappling with poor
service and sky-high inflation, the state-run Sunday Mail said.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission gave the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (ZESA) the go-ahead for an "interim tariff increase of up
to 100 percent", the newspaper said.

A ZESA official said the
structure of the new tariffs, applicable with retrospective effect from
Friday, were still being worked out.

"It would be in breach of
standing regulations if we were to reveal the figures, as we are still
breaking them down for each category of our customers," a senior unnamed
ZESA official was quoted as saying by the
newspaper.

"The commission has underlined that
the charges are only for the interim because they are still working on the
proposals we submitted."

"They said this was being done to grant
ZESA relief in the meantime while they worked on a structure that caters for
efficiency gains and customer service," he said.

The Sunday
Mail said ZESA had asked for a "much higher review" but the power regulator
put a ceiling of 100 percent to "strike a balance between the company's
viability and customers' affordability".

Currently domestic
consumers have to pay the state-run electricity provider a service charge of
ZIM$7 391 (R300) per month and three dollars for each ampere
consumed.

Industries are charged a fixed rate of ZIM$68 413 monthly
as service fees while those in the farming sector are charged ZIM$22 111
monthly. The tariffs for actual electricity used varies from sector to
sector.

Zimbabweans have been reeling under power cuts and poor
service but the ZESA official said this was due to lack of
cash.

The official told the Sunday Mail that it was become
difficult to respond to problems on a timely basis "because funds required
for the purchase of critical equipment in some instances were restrictive
and this compromised the system", he said.

He said things would
get somewhat easier with the new tariffs in place but warned that blackouts
would continue.

"The issue requires huge investment in power
generation," he said.

Zimbabwe's once-model economy has been in a
downturn for the last five years, characterised by runaway inflation and
perennial shortages of foreign currency and basic commodities.

The situation has been blamed partly on controversial land reforms that have
diminished food production and the country's isolation from its traditional
trading partners in Europe following the 2002 presidential election, that
observers charged was rigged. - Sapa-AFP

Harare - Zimbabwe's parliament meets on Tuesday
to vote on a bill that will bar white farmers from legally challenging land
seizures, a move they say will further undermine the country's democratic
credentials.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill will also prevent people
deemed anti-government from travelling abroad and introduce a bicameral
parliament which critics say is meant to boost President Robert Mugabe's
hold on the legislature and accommodate more ruling party
members.

"The new bill will effectively suspend the rule of law,
undermine the judiciary and will be a blow to investor confidence," said
Leslie George Smith, a member of the all-white Commercial Farmers' Union
(CFU).

Smith, a former high court judge, said the CFU was not opposed to
"transparent and lawful land reform" but was concerned the reforms would
allow the state to grab land with impunity and without
compensation.

The bill reads: "A person having any right or interest in
the land shall not apply to any court to challenge the acquisition of the
land by the state and no court shall entertain any such
challenge."

Another CFU member said on condition of anonymity that the
"bill will merely legalise and encourage widespread looting of the
productive sector in Zimbabwe which would lead to further unemployment and
crime."

He said it would also legitimise "a campaign of ethnic cleansing
against the productive Euro-African sector as part of a political campaign
to eliminate all forms of opposition or perceived opposition against the
ruling party."

A committee of lawmakers who consulted interested parties
three weeks ago, urged parliament to amend the clause on farm seizures to
allow aggrieved farmers to seek redress in court.

"It would be in
furtherance of the tenets of natural justice that any aggrieved person be
given the right to approach the courts for arbitration where there is a
dispute," the committee said in a report to parliament.

The Zimbabwean
government last month published proposed constitutional reforms that will
allow the state to assume ownership of farms immediately after a property
has been officially listed for expropriation.

Paranoia

The reforms
will also allow the government to confiscate passports and impose travel
bans on people who it thinks pose a risk to the "national, public and
economic interests of the state."

Former information minister Jonathan
Moyo described the clause on travel restrictions as "paranoia gone too far,"
adding that all one needed nowadays was a password and not a passport to
interact with people abroad.

Zimbabwe's land reforms, which began, often
violently, in 2000 after the rejection in a referendum of a
government-sponsored draft constitution, have seen about 4 000 white farmers
evicted from their properties.

The land has been redistributed to
landless blacks in a move that the government has said is designed to
correct imbalances created by colonial rule, when the majority of prime
farmland was owned by some 4,500 whites.

Critics say the majority of the
beneficiaries lack farming knowledge and depend on government
handouts.

Human rights lawyers say about 4 000 former white commercial
farmers are challenging the seizure of their properties.

Lovemore
Madhuku, a constitutional law expert and head of a leading civic group,
said: "This is a government which is refusing to change its stance in
undermining all tenets of democracy."

Irene Petras, spokesperson for
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said: "By its very nature, the
amendment bill seeks to abolish the bill of rights and usurps the powers of
the judiciary in Zimbabwe."

For the bill to be passed, the governing
Zanu-PF needs 107 votes, the exact number of members it has in
parliament.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 28 (Reuters) - British writer Martin Meredith
pulls no punches in his assessment of Africa: it is a bloody mess, its
leaders are to blame, and no amount of aid from the West will solve
that.

"Most African states have become hollowed out. They are no longer
instruments capable of serving the public good," he concludes in his
recently published 'The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of
Independence'.

"African governments and the vampire-like politicians
who run them are regarded by the populations they rule as yet another burden
they have to bear in the struggle for survival."

Covering Africa's
past five decades, the book seeks to broadly answer one topical question:
how has a continent with so much potential become the poorest in the
world?

Africa's plight was headline news with the July summit of the
Group of Eight rich nations who pledged to double aid to the continent to
$50 billion by 2010 and also agreed a package of debt relief for some of its
poorest countries.

Meredith, who has written several books on African
subjects, is sceptical.

"Debt relief and aid are not easy options but
they are the easiest of those available," he told Reuters in a telephone
interview.

"The G8 initiative is addressing the wrong end of the problem.
It cannot be resolved without Western assistance but it leaves you with the
problem of mismanagement of government. This cannot be resolved just through
Western aid," he said.

Many writers have shared his critique of the
central role of state leaders in Africa's demise, noting that political
power is often seen as a path to self-enrichment.

But other analysts
see more signs of hope.

"Africa is turning the corner under the
imperative of greater accountability being driven from below," said John
Stremlau, head of the international relations department at Johannesburg's
University of the Witwatersrand.

"The abuse of power by the big man was
also easier in the first 40 years of independence than it is today because
the international accountability was lower ... In a post-9/11 world there is
a greater concern about having politically capable states."

GREED AND
CRUELTY

Meredith, however, sees African leaders' support for someone like
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe -- whom Western leaders and African
critics accuse of human rights abuses -- as a hangover from past that does
not augur well for the future.

Admiration for the continent's people
and places comes through in his latest book and he does not ignore other
well-known factors stunting African development, though some analysts have
given them more prominence.

The continent suffered debilitating foreign
intervention, from a slave trade that uprooted millions to the cynical
diplomacy of the Cold War, and faces environmental stress and a heavy
reliance on commodities.

But he saves his wrath for Africa's leaders and
the world powers he says has propped them up.

The book portrays
government incompetence, greed and cruelty on a staggering
scale.

When the West African nation of Ghana gained independence from
Britain in 1957 -- making it a beacon of hope as the first African country
to shake off colonial rule -- few could have foreseen what lay ahead for it
and much of the continent.

"No other African state was launched with
so much promise for the future," Meredith writes.

"Ghana embarked on
independence as one of the richest tropical countries in the world, with an
efficient civil service, an impartial judiciary and a prosperous middle
class."

But its founding father Kwame Nkrumah pursued ruinous policies
while maintaining an iron grip on media which ceaselessly praised him. He
presided over soaring public debt and widescale graft.

"The result of
Nkrumah's handling of the economy was calamitous," writes Meredith. "Ghana
by 1965 had become virtually bankrupt."

Nkrumah was ousted in a coup in
1966, making Ghana an African trendsetter in more ways than
one.

Ghana's leader was just one of many colourful but sinister
characters on the post-colonial stage.

There was Jean-Bedel Bokassa
of the Central African Republic, who had 17 wives and a reputation for
cannibalism, Uganda's ruthless Idi Amin and Francisco Macias Nguema of
Equatorial Guinea, who closed all libraries and banned the word intellectual
-- only to be deposed and murdered by his equally brutal nephew Teodoro
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

"You have to look to Washington to see what
its priorities are. Equatorial Guinea is a corrupt and murderous
dictatorship. But what are George Bush's priorities? It is oil security, not
good government."

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- President Robert
Mugabe lashed out Sunday at church leaders who have been among the most
outspoken critics of Zimbabwe's human rights record.Addressing the
funeral of Josiah Tungamirai, Mugabe recalled that the Cabinet minister and
retired air force commander had quit a Catholic seminary to join the fight
against white rule in what was then Rhodesia.

Tungamirai's goal had been
"to serve others, something which is sadly missing in some churches today,"
Mugabe said. "Zimbabwe is no home for traitors, for political stooges, for
political crooks and cowards."

Mugabe's comments came shortly after an
Anglican bishop who is a strong supporter of the president was brought
before an ecclesiastic court on charges ranging from besmirching the church
to incitement to murder.

Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga has not been asked
to answer the accusations and faces no criminal charges. The case was left
in disarray when the Malawian Supreme Court judge presiding over the
ecclesiastic court walked out declaring he had never seen anything like
it.

Mugabe, who lead Zimbabwe to independence in 1980, has been widely
criticized for his increasingly autocratic rule.

Children's welfare
groups united Sunday to demand an end to forced evictions under a slum
clearance campaign that the United Nations estimates has destroyed the homes
or livelihoods of 700,000 people.

The groups took out a full-page add in
the independent Sunday Standard newspaper to announce the formation of an
alliance called the Child Protection Working Group, made up of local and
international aid groups, faith-based organizations and U.N.
agencies.

The alliance said the government's Operation Murambatsvina --
Drive Out Trash -- was exposing children to "exploitation, abuse and
violence."

It demanded an immediate end to the evictions and measures to
protect children affected -- risking heavy fines, seizure of assets and jail
terms for defying a government ban on non-governmental groups that involve
themselves in "governance issues."

Thousands of children have missed
schooling, had their examinations disrupted, or been separated from their
families "as a result of continual population movements," said the
alliance.

"In order to meet their own and families' basic needs,
children, especially adolescent girls and boys, have resorted to risky
activities which put them at risk of exploitation," it said, a reference to
a reported increase in prostitution and substance abuse associated with the
demolitions.

The alliance demanded unrestricted access to assess the
effects on children across the country so it can prepare relief plans. U.N.
Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland on Friday accused Zimbabwe of blocking an
emergency appeal for millions of dollars to help victims of forced evictions
by arguing over the text of the appeal.

Zimbabwe authorities claim
the evictions have stopped and rebuilding has begun. But more than 600
people were last week removed from a farm near Harare by baton-wielding
paramilitaries for unspecified reasons.

The alliance said it was
committed to "collaborative engagement with the government" and pledged to
"support any measures implemented by the government to ensure the best
interests of children".

OPERATION Restore
Order/Murambatsvina - which claimed the scalp of home industries, informal
traders, housing cooperatives and "illegal" housing structures - has turned
on bottle stores forcing them to close shop.Some bottle store operators in
Harare told The Daily Mirror yesterday that city authorities had withdrawn
their licences without warning citing unspecified "irregularities."The
City of Harare issues liquor licences to traders through the Liquor Board,
its licencing inspectorate."The city authorities have refused to renew our
licences without warning. They are citing unspecified irregularities. It
looks like most bottle stores are on their way down," a bottle store owner
said."There is every reason to suspect foul play because they are also a
player in the market. It is quite awkward that they should be both a player
and the referee. To me they are trying to turn their bars into a monopoly."
Information reaching this newspaper alleged that some bottle stores have
already ceased trading after failing to renew their licences. Sources in the
Harare City Council alleged that the Liquor Board, acting on a discretionary
decree issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development,
refused outright to renew licences for some bottle stores outside the ambit
of council on expiry.Bottle store operators claimed that the policy
twist was an underhand plot to buttress the beleaguered Rufaro Marketing
(Pvt) Ltd in a last-gasp attempt to assist it regain lost market share taken
over by innovative private traders. Rufaro Marketing is a subsidiary of the
Harare city Council running a chain of bars and bottle stores. The company
has been experiencing a precipitous tailspin since the 1990s following the
proliferation of private liquor outlets after the World Bank/International
Monetary Fund (IMF) prescribed market reforms.Harare spokesperson Leslie
Gwindi yesterday told The Daily Mirror that the local government ministry
had since appointed an interim board to revamp Rufaro Marketing recreational
facilities to full throttle.Gwindi said: "The minister of local government
and urban development has appointed an interim board that is looking at that
(the refurbishment of council bars and bottle stores). We are currently
revamping our bottle stores and bars to bring them back to operate at full
throttle."The investment will restore their profitability."Gwindi
declined to comment on reports that the Liquor Board was refusing to renew
bottle store licences."I cannot comment on that. Talk to the Liquor Board,"
Gwindi said.The chairman of the board, Arthur Manasseh could not be reached
for comment yesterday.

NATIONAL power generation and
distribution company, Zesa Holdings will seek to take up a controlling stake
in the coal extraction project that the company is set to enter into with
Chinese-based investors as efforts to increase electricity generation
capacity gather momentum.The Business Mirror understands that having a
strong representation at board level with the Chinese investors would enable
Zesa to influence decisions and scuttle any moves to unilaterally increase
coal prices, which would precipitate more increases in the power utility's
production costs."We will take up a controlling stake because we want to
avoid a situation whereby our foreign investment partners will increase coal
prices unilaterally as this invokes increments in production costs," Zesa
officials said on Thursday.Zesa recently entered into the coal mining
deal with the Chinese to reduce costs of purchasing coal and correct earlier
sporadic shortages from sole supplier Hwange.Several Chinese companies
have expressed interest in investing into Zimbabwe's mining sector with
international technologies concern, China National Earotechnology Import and
Export Company (CATIC) indicating that it is ready to pour in at least
US$350 million.CATIC is the holding company of AVIC 1 and 2, the
subsidiaries that assembled two MA60 jets delivered in April this
year."The company is ready to invest between US$350 million and US$400
million into this country's coal mining sector with Zesa Holdings and they
would also set up a methane extraction plant," Zimbabwe's ambassador to
China Chris Mutsvangwa said recently at a ceremony to receive the planes in
Victoria Falls.The power supplier requires extra coal supplies to run
its thermal power stations as sources revealed that Zesa's efforts to take
up shareholding in Hwange Colliery in order to have some control of the raw
material had hit a brick wall.The coal shortages resulted in
intermittent power shortages, which corporate affairs manager Obert Nyatanga
blamed on increased theft of transformers and destruction of pylons by
thieves.He said the thieves last week pulled down one of the pylons in
Matabeleland North and the company was battling to restore
supplies.Another pylon, he added, was also pulled down in Mudzi early this
year, a situation that made operations of the company difficult as most of
its equipment was sourced from foreign supplies in foreign
currency.Sources said the Chinese project was part of the company's
strategies that were aimed at cushioning the country from a projected power
shortage in the region in the year 2007, adding that the anxiety that had
gripped the market would soon be taken care of."We have a mandate to
supply power to the nation, Zesa is a strategic company and obviously no one
will leave the situation to deteriorate to such levels," a Zesa official
said.

"You better change your ways or you will find yourself
without a passport," was one of several threats shouted across the floor
from the government benches at opposition member of parliament David Coltart
last week. He was accused by veteran Zanu PF politician Kumbirai Kangai of
drafting United States sanctions legislation against Zimbabwe. This made
Kangai and some of his colleagues prohibited immigrants to the US. Coltart
retorted that if his passport was withdrawn it would mean he could "spend
more time with my family" in Bulawayo. Coltart, who gathered much of the
information on the massacres in Matabeleland in the 1980s, is particularly
loathed by ruling party MPs, some of whom are named in his report, Breaking
the Silence. "You have nothing to fear Mr Biti," said Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa during the same session to Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) MP Tendai Biti, "because we have no evidence of your calling for
sanctions." For once Biti, like Coltart a lawyer in his extra parliamentary
life, was in favour with Zanu PF. He probably gets thrown out of parliament
by the speaker more than any other legislator. He was last kicked out
shortly after parliament resumed last month for calling a deputy minister "a
thief".

The exchanges took place in a debate on a constitutional
amendment empowering the state to withdraw travel documents. It is expected
to be passed this week. There is a kind of ghoulish betting race taking
place here as to who will lose his or her passport first when the law is
enacted. Most analysts believe that in the first round Coltart is at pole
position with director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Arnold Tsunga.
Tsunga lobbied quietly but determinedly and eventually prevailed on
colleagues in the African Commission of Human and People's Rights to ensure
that its critical report on Zimbabwe was adopted in Abuja in January by the
AU Heads of State and Government. The report enraged Zanu PF in general and
President Robert Mugabe in particular. "I don't need a passport to carry on
with my work which is mainly communicated through electronic mail. So it
won't achieve anything or affect my ability or that of my organisation to
report on human rights violations. It will just be an inconvenience, but an
exercise in futility for Zanu PF which will be further damaged by yet
another demonstration of their intolerance," he said. He laughed in response
to the question of whether he would consider seeking an exit permit if his
passport was withdrawn. "Of course I won't," he said. "There is work to do
here."

The United Nations report on demolition of poor people's
houses across the country in May and June infuriated Mugabe and was the
final stain on his reputation. Anyone found to have taken footage of the
demolitions which were screened around the world might also find their
passports withdrawn, if they are Zimbabweans. People on the ground say most
were foreigners who came across the border as tourists and slipped out again
with their damning evidence. Archbishop Pius Ncube rates high on most
people's lists of those whom Zanu PF would like to stop travelling. He has
made it clear he has no fear of any restrictions or punishment, and so
losing his passport wouldn't keep him quiet. But most feel that as Mugabe is
a Catholic, he may not want to offend Rome any more than he has already. For
the moment, the turbulent priest from Bulawayo will probably continue
travelling and preaching to anyone who will listen that the Zimbabwe
government is hurting its people.

MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai and
party secretary-general Welshman Ncube, detested as they both are by Zanu
PF, are probably also safe, mostly, analysts feel, because South Africa
would be irritated if their passports were withdrawn. Roy Bennett, former
MDC MP who has travelled widely and been a poignant symbol of resistance
since he was released from six months in prison in June, might also lose his
passport as he is always calling for stronger action against Zanu PF. He was
sent to prison for storming across parliament after he was accused of being
"descended from thieves" and shoved Chinamasa over. He has made it clear he
is impervious to Zanu PF's various punishments exacted against him and his
family and associates. There is a group of bankers who fled into exile in
the past few years and who travel on Zimbabwean passports. Most, however,
keep a low profile, and so might not be seen as frontline enemies of Zanu
PF. Biti told parliament this week that this clutch of 22 amendments to
Zimbabwe's British-designed constitution was the 17th time it had been
"molested" in 25 years. "We should not create constitutions that are going
to be used to settle scores," he said. Another amendment to the constitution
removes the right of those whose property, only defined as "agricultural
land" is nationalised to seek adjudication by the courts.

Harare - For the first time Zimbabwe's Law Society
has issued a statement signed by all elected members of its council,
including those seen as supportive of President Robert Mugabe, condemning
constitutional amendments due to become law this week. The Law Society's
nine elected council members put out a statement last week saying that the
22 amendments, particularly those on freedom of movement and property rights
were an "undisguised frontal assault" which "fully merits censure". It said
that the amendments deprived Zimbabweans of "fundamental rights to own
property, secure protection of the law, and freedom of movement for the
people who rely on the constitution for protection against state action".
President of the Law Society, Joseph James said yesterday that this was an
"auspicious moment" in the history of the organisation. "The statement has
every councillor's signature, to prevent any misunderstanding, or any
attempt which might arise to suggest the council is divided as has happened
in the past. It also prevents any councillor denying they did not support
what we have said." The statement was sent this week to all law and bar
associations in Africa and beyond, including South Africa. The condemnation
by the Zimbabwe Law Society leaves Zanu-PF isolated from all professional
institutions including those which normally stay out of political
developments. Even within its own ranks, the debates in parliament last week
were poorly attended by Zanu- PF and when the Bill passed through last
Tuesday, there was none of the usual ululating from the government benches.
"The Law Society of Zimbabwe urges the government to abandon its moves
through the constitutional amendment.and to commence an open, free and fair
consultative constitutional review process leading to the enactment of a new
constitution," the society said.

The cantankerous Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe seems to
have won again. In spite of his appalling record of battering the
opposition, human rights abuses and disregarding basic freedoms, he is
likely to be bailed out by South Africa to the tune of R6.5 billion. This is
approximately the amount Zimbabwe owes the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). The IMF meets in August to decide whether to expel the country. A
process of formal expulsion is already in motion. Mbeki and his strategists
argue for providing Zimbabwe with the rescue package that would finally give
the South African government the leverage five years of quiet diplomacy has,
so far, spectacularly failed to secure. Those in the Union Buildings couched
South Africa's willingness to help out on the premise that the worst thing
for South Africa is to have a failed state as a neighbour. "Are we asked to
allow people to die of hunger on our borders?" asked Finance Minister Trevor
Manuel, at a talk at the University of the Witwatersrand this
week.

Part of the South African rescue package would be agricultural
help following Zimbabwe's predictable maize crop failure this harvest, that
has left the country with a 1.6 million ton shortfall - not surprising if
one considers the disruption of agriculture production following Mugabe's
mismanagement of land reform. Among the terms of the rescue deal would be
that Zimbabwe returns to the rule of law and that Zanu PF steps up talks
with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change; that Mugabe lifts the
restrictions on the media and civil groups; stops Operation Restore Order, a
controversial urban clean-up campaign and protects the property rights of
South African investments there. It would also compel the Zimbabwean
government to manage its economy "prudently", including reining in runaway
inflation, devaluing the Zimbabwean dollar and raising domestic revenue by
increasing the country's fuel price.

An important element in the
renewed eagerness of the South African government to stand surety for
Zimbabwe is that Mugabe has also approached China for a loan, to hedge
against South Africa's refusing to bail out the country. It appears that the
Chinese demand substantial concessions for granting such a loan. These
include access to coal, gold and platinum deposits. In return, the Chinese
would also try to protect Zimbabwe at the United Nations and IMF. Mbeki
fears South Africa's political and economic interests are at peril if the
Chinese get a clear foothold in Zimbabwe - although the Chinese have been
there for some time. China is increasingly becoming South Africa's political
and economic competitor in Africa. Chinese investments on the continent have
surged. Moreover, with the increase in Chinese investments, that country's
political influence in the region has also been strengthened. Chinese
political reach into the region will presumably go against South Africa's
attempts to bring the concept of good governance to Africa. The symbolic
value of the Chinese presence would be that bad governance does actually
pay.

The loan offer to Zimbabwe reflects the belief by Mbeki that
Zimbabwe's economic woes and huge debt are partially to be blamed on the
legacy of colonialism. Thus Mbeki's statement: "It is wrong to say that the
debt problem in Zimbabwe is one of corruption, that money was disappearing
to corrupt politicians". But this is only half true. It is correct that
after liberation in Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesian regime left the new
government with a depleted and ransacked fiscus. The Nats did the same to
the incoming ANC government in 1994. The Zimbabwean government initially
spent and borrowed heavily to give its newly liberated citizens a better
life, following the deep inequities left by the departing regime. Since
then, Zanu PF corruption, kleptocracy and mismanagement have compounded the
country's woes. How is the South African government going to hold the Zanu
PF regime to conditions when they have failed up to now to do so? And how is
the South African government going to ensure that the money is actually
going to feed all the starving people of Zimbabwe - and not only those seen
as Zanu PF supporters? So far, we have had no clear answers.

Everyone talks glibly of the $1-billion South Africa
may or may not lend Zimbabwe. But as President Robert Mugabe's people and
our people drag out their discussions, the value of the "loan" in Zimbabwean
currency has grown a little. Before July 22, the $1-billion loan request (as
opposed to loan offer) was worth Z$12 500 000 000 000. On July 22 it went up
to Z$18 500 000 000 000. This week it went up at a managed auction to Z$24
025 310 000 000. If those dollars were sold on the informal street market,
they would be worth Z$43 000 000 000 000. That's a lot of zeros, even for a
banana republic.

A pretty
average Vigil. What’s an average Vigil? Well, for a start, some fantastic
dancing – this time by a recent supporter, Mqhubele. His dancing, often
balletic on his toes, seemed to express the anguish of the people in
Zimbabwe. He ended up lying on his
back playing a drum. The weather was pretty average too: no rain and no sun,
not too warm and not too cold. As usual, we drew supporters from far and wide –
a family from Bedford, an MDC official from
Leicester, and a sympathiser from
Birmingham. Also, as usual, we had
some Zanu / CIO people (it makes us feel so wanted).

A typical
Vigil also has the following – a sympathetic African from another country (in
this case an Eritrean who said “We are suffering from the same problems”); an
enthusiastic “do-gooder” (in the best sense of someone who is genuinely trying
to help). In this case a very sympathetic chap from East
London, Mark, who takes a close
interest particularly in West
Africa and has kindly offered his
support; and a core group of supporters, many of them just out of detention.
These are people who have suffered because of their opposition to Mugabe and
inspire us to continue our weekly Vigil in the face of such indifference from
the vast majority of the Zimbabwean community in London.

FOR THE
RECORD: about 30 supporters came today, about average.

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429 Strand,
London, takes
place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in
Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk

A Vienna sausage
costs more that a three bedroom house cost 25 years ago

Fuel has
increased by 59,000% in the last 18 months

If you want fuel you have to
buy foreign currency on the black market(illegal) drive 120 kms, smuggle
your cash through an international border,and fill a container. On return
you have to pay duty in Zim $ on the fuelyou have purchased but you are not
allowed to take out sufficient Zim $ topay the duty anyway

In August
you are advised of the new minimum wages for July

Kariba Bream now costs
$1,200,000 per kg which is double the price ofimported Hake

Fees in
Government schools are increased by 1,000% retrospective for 6months, whilst
private schools are restricted from increasing their fees
atall

Colgate toothpaste in supermarkets is kept locked in a glass
display cabinetotherwise it will be stolen

It can take up to a year to renew a firearms licence which is
only valid forthree years

A replacement drivers' licence can take up
to three years

Electricity Supply Commission is unable to send out
monthly accounts, soestimates the usage - a previous average usage of
$250,000 p.m. is estimatedat $24 million

A monthly govt. pension of
$135 00 will buy one small sip of Coke. Butthis is not an issue because
you can't buy cokes anyway. Pensioners livingoutside our borders would
receive half one US cent per month

MY ADDENDUM

An ordinary washer
costs 20 to 30 dollars. If you are lucky enough to finda coin; drill a hole
in it! Our largest coin is $ 5.

If you can find a 1 cent coin you can
really "coin" it. It is even made ofcopper.

PARENTS
should brace themselves for a shocking rise in the cost of sending children
to school.

Enquiries by The Standard reveal that there has been a massive
increase, in not only fees which will be backdated to January, but also the
cost of items that are essential to undertake their studies.

The
increases are so steep that some students may be forced either to drop out
of school or go without basics.

Rough calculations by The Standard
indicate that a parent with a child attending a government-run school would
have to spend between $4 million and $5 million buying items that were
generally affordable a few years ago.

For example, the price of
uniforms has shot up to almost $1 million.

At Enbee (Pvt) Ltd, a
khaki polyester set uniform now costs $920 000, up from $500 000 while a
pair of shoes ranges from $500 000 to $700 000.

A pair of socks now
costs between $80 000 and $120 000 while shirts go for between $250 000 to
$300 000.

It is not only school clothing that has become very
expensive. A counter exercise book which used to be $40 000 last term, has
been increased to $78 500 each at Kingston's. A pen now costs $12 000 while
a mathematical set sells for between $83 000 and $90 000.

The
prices of textbooks have also shot up. A new general mathematics textbook
for Ordinary Level now costs $236 000 while English for Zimbabwe costs $260
000.

Apart from these items, parents have to grapple with rising fees
which have been increased by 1 000% and backdated to the beginning of the
year.

The Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, Aeneas
Chigwedere, last week threatened to take action against school authorities,
who followed his directive (Circular No 7 Review of School Fees) issued in
July for schools to backdate fees.

School authorities who spoke
to The Standard last week vowed to backdate the fees unless Chigwedere
issues another circular cancelling the first instruction.

Schools
that were charging $300 000 last term are now demanding, $1.2
million.

Highfield Secondary School, which was charging $450 a
term, has increased its fees to $1.4 million this term. Msengezi Government
High School in Makwiro increased its fees to $7 million, up from $3.8
million last term while Prince Edward School has increased fees to $5
million for day scholars, up from about $3 million last term.

An
official at the school vowed to backdate fees unless Chigwedere withdraws
the first circular sent from his ministry, which gave them the green light
to hike fees.

"We will charge the backdated fees because
Chigwedere sent us that circular directing us to do so. We can't change that
because he has said something different in the media," said the
official.

The chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Teachers'
Association, Peter Mabande, blamed Chigwedere for the mix-up regarding the
backdating of fees as well as the general chaos in the education
sector.

"The increase is too sharp and too sudden for most parents.
It should have been gradually increased. However, the amount realised from
the increase is relatively too small to meet educational
needs."

Alexios Muzariri, the chairman of the National Association of
Primary Heads, who is also a teacher at Blakiston Primary School, could not
be reached for comment.

School Development Association chairman
of Chaminuka Primary School in Chitungwiza, Moses Mazhande, said the
increases were necessary for Zimbabwe to reclaim her status as one of the
countries with the best education standards in Africa.

"Parents
have to find ways of making sure that their monies are being put to good
use. What we need is a new minister of education who is consistent on
policy," Mazhande said.

BULAWAYO - Scores of panic-stricken patients at Mater Dei Hospital,
one of the best medical institutions in the country, were on Friday night
lucky to escape unhurt after fire broke out and caused extensive damage to
the Intensive Care Unit.

However, the fire brigade reported that
one patient suffered burns during the evacuation at the
hospital.

The fire whose origin had not yet been established by the
time of going to press broke out at around 9 pm on Friday evening and was
contained an hour later.

The fire brigade initially concentrated
on evacuating patients and saving equipment and some provisions at the
institution before putting out the fire.

It remained unclear
yesterday why it took so long for the emergency services to respond. The
fire-fighting unit's headquarters is close to Mater Dei hospital but they
only got to know about the fire when it was at roof level.

Bulawayo
Fire brigade spokesperson, Linos Phiri, said his team reacted swiftly to the
report but said the fire was already out of hand.

"The fire was
reported to us at 22:29 and we arrived at the scene three minutes later, but
when we got there the roof was already collapsing," Phiri said, adding they
were still trying to establish the cause of the fire.

Most of the
evacuated patients spent the night on the hospital grounds, while the rescue
services were making frantic arrangements to transfer patients to other
institutions.

Sources who spoke to this newspaper yesterday said
authorities at Mater Dei hospital were negotiating with officials at the
underutilised Ekusileni Medical Centre to arrange transfer of
patients.

Ekusileni Medical centre, a brainchild of late nationalist
and former Vice President Joshua Nkomo remains, unused due to disagreements
among the hospital's board of directors.

Relatives of inmates at
Mater Dei Hospital, who spoke to this paper yesterday said they were
impressed with the manner the hospital staff and residents from the nearby
Ilanda and Malindela suburbs handled the disaster.

"Malindela and
Ilanda residents showed co-operation as they helped move equipment and
patients out of the building before the arrival of the fire brigade. That
explains why there were no lives lost in the incident," said a resident,
narrating events to onlookers yesterday morning.

RESERVE bank governor Gideon Gono has wielded the axe on
four of his senior managers for allegedly botching up a US$60 million fuel
loan facility.

Azvinandaa Saburi, head of the central bank's
financial markets division, Francis Nyathi, head of the external loans
coordinating Committee, Patience Chihota and an unidentified official who
both head the central bank's legal department were on Monday suspended for
allegedly "messing up" on the sourcing of fuel.

The four are
accused of botching up a loan agreement, which the central bank entered into
with an unidentified bank. The loan facility, sanctioned by Gono in June,
could have resulted in Zimbabwe sourcing 100 million litres of
fuel.

The country needs a minimum of 90 million litres of fuel
a month for basic needs and the financial package could have temporarily
relieved distressed motorists and industrialists.

Gono, who
sanctioned the deal, in May told the state media that fuel supplies would
ease "in the next two weeks" on the assumption that the 100 million litres
of fuel would have landed in the country.

But the RBZ boss was
forced to eat his words when he came back from a foreign trip only to
realise that the crisis had reached catastrophic levels as ships remained
docked at the Mozambican port of Beira due to non-payment.

Gono
then launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the loan
facility and sources close to the investigation said the suspended officials
were implicated.

"The four were accused of sleeping on the
wheel to the detriment of the nation," the sources said. "They were accused
of sitting on the offer and yet the governor had approved the
loan."

The four are expected to appear before the central
bank's disciplinary committee which sources say could consider relieving
them of their duties.

Gono could not be reached for comment
yesterday but officials at the RBZ said Saburi and Nyathi had gone on sick
leave, a situation that raised eyebrows that the two heads of a crucial
division could fall sick at the same time.

When reached for
comment an agitated Nyathi refused to entertain questions from The Standard
while efforts to reach Saburi were futile.

"Mapihwa nhamba
dzangu naani (Who gave you my mobile phone number?) I can't talk to you.
There are people at the RBZ whom you can talk to.you don't need to talk to
me," said Nyathi.

Government officials have tried in tried in
vain to secure supplies from Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Angola, Nigeria, United
Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Iran due to the country's poor credit rating.
The shortage has disrupted activities in industry, commerce and agriculture,
while commuters have resorted to walkining long distances owing to the
persistent crisis.

MEMBERS of parliament from the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) last week petitioned Speaker of Parliament, John Nkomo, over
allegations of "outright partisanship" towards Zanu PF MPs during debates in
the House.

The MPs said Nkomo, who is Zanu PF national chairman, was
stifling debate in Parliament by being heavy-handed on opposition
legislators, while letting ruling party legislators "shout" whatever they
wanted with impunity.

In the same petition, the opposition legislators
also levelled similar allegations against Nkomo's deputy, Edna Madzongwe,
who last week ejected Harare East MP Tendai Biti from the House for shouting
"abusive words" at a ruling party MP.

MDC deputy chief whip,
Thokozani Khupe, last week confirmed that the opposition party had
petitioned Nkomo over "the biased manner" in which he treated MDC
legislators in the House.

She said by ejecting MDC legislators from
the House, Zanu PF wanted to portray opposition legislators as rowdy
elements.

"Parliament is not like classroom where there should be
dead silence. Members should be allowed to converse with the next person. He
wants us to behave like school children," said Khupe, adding, "there is not
even a single Zanu PF MP who has been ejected from the House by
Nkomo."

She said in the few months that Nkomo has been Speaker of
Parliament, more MDC legislators have been ejected from the Chamber than
when Emmerson Mnangagwa headed the House. Mnangagwa was speaker for five
years. He is now the Minister of Rural Housing and Social
Amenities.

"From the way things are going, it appears Mnangagwa was
better. When he (Nkomo) was elected we thought he was level-headed but my
God he is worse," said Khupe, adding that Nkomo should prove that he was not
biased by addressing the opposition MPs' concerns.

Nkomo was
elected Speaker of Parliament soon after the controversial 31 March
parliamentary elections, which saw Zanu PF getting 78 seats, MDC 41, while
an independent candidategarnered a single seat.

Nkomo refused to
comment on the matter.

"That's a matter they (MDC MPs) can handle
with the Speaker and not for discussion in the media," Nkomo said when
contacted for comment.

Madzongwe was said to be attending a
meeting.

Two weeks ago, 30 MDC lawmakers stormed out of the Chamber
after what they called unfair ejection of two of their members, Biti and
Nelson Chamisa, the MP for Kuwadzana.

Biti had allegedly labelled
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sylvester Nguni a "thief" in retaliation for
being called a "traitor" by the former Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco)
group managing director.

One MDC MP, who has on several occasions
been ejected from the House by Nkomo, said the Zanu PF national chairman was
not treating them fairly.

"We have been labelled puppets and traitors
by Zanu PF MPs but the moment we respond that they are thieves, we are
targeted for ejection from the House.

"The problem is that Nkomo is
coming from dispensation of one-party system. He is still resident in that
dispensation of one-partyism," said the MP who requested
anonymity.

Another MP was also furious about Nkomo's alleged
bias.

"Nkomo wants us to behave like we are in a Zanu PF caucus
meeting. His behaviour is uncalled for. We expected him to be level-headed,"
he said.

The MDC MP said although legislators from both political
parties shout at each other during debates in the House, only MDC
parliamentarians were being ejected.

"It takes two to tango but
always one legislator, from the opposition, is punished leaving Zanu PF MPs
free and shouting what they want in the House," he said.

Other
opposition legislators who have so far been ejected from the House by Nkomo
or Madzongwe are Job Sikhala (St Mary's), MDC chief whip, Innocent Gonese
and Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga (Glen Norah).

AS Zimbabwe mourns the death of national hero, Josiah
Tungamirai, The Standard can reveal that a number of ministers are ailing,
casting doubt over their ability to effectively steer the ship in President
Mugabe's "Development Cabinet."

The Standard has established that
three ministers and a governor have not been in good health and have sought
treatment during the past few months in either local hospitals or outside
the country.

Jokonya who is currently on
three months sick leave is unwell and is believed to have sought treatment
in South Africa and then, lately the United States of America where he is
said to be recuperating.

Acting Minister of Information and
Publicity, Chen Chimutengwende also confirmed Jokonya was out of the
country.

Mohadi, the Minister of Home Affairs, yesterday dismissed
rumours. "Where did you get that information? I am not sick, right now as we
speak I am in a parade rehearsing for Cde Tungamirai's burial tomorrow
(today)," Mohadi said.

Higher and Tertiary Education Minister
Stan Mudenge all but confirmed that he has not been well. When The Standard
enquired about his health, the minister said: "Ndavanani (I am feeling
better now)."

Karimanzira, the Harare metropolitan province resident
minister admitted to The Standard that he has been having problems with his
leg but said he is now on a recovery path, after seeking medical
treatment.

A top US Congressional delegation has proposed to selectively
engage government officials and ruling party legislators to find ways to end
the current crisis, in a move likely to spark divisions in President Robert
Mugabe's party.

Gregory Simpkins and Pearl-Alice Marsh, senior
professional staff members of the US House of Representatives International
Relations Committee (HIRC), made the recommendation to the US Congress
following a 10-day fact-finding visit to Zimbabwe and South Africa in
July.

In their congressional report, a copy of which is in The Standard's
possession, the delegation noted that by lumping all of Zimbabwe's leaders
in the same category, there would be no channels for discussions about how
to use influential people to reverse Zimbabwe's current
slide.

"The Zimbabwe Democracy Economic Recovery Act of 2001 allows
for a selective waiver of the visa sanctions such that cooperative elements
of Zanu PF could be allowed into the United States for discussions, or if a
visit to the US would pose a problem for such Zanu -PF officials, then
meetings could and should be arranged in more neutral settings," reads part
of the recommendations.

They said by isolating the entire ruling
party and government, this gave no encouragement for any officials to change
their behaviour or the direction of the country.

"Zimbabwe has
been a persistent problem for US policymakers. It is time for the executive
and legislative branches to devise a mutually agreeable, coordinated policy
to bring Zimbabwe into ranks of African nations who have developed political
and economic stability and help that nation avoid the certain fate of
becoming a failed state if its course is not changed soon,"

Failure
to resolve the crisis, they said, would not only have a negative impact on
the country's population, but also will be a tremendous burden for the
entire southern African region.

The report also condemned the
"clean-up" operation in Zimbabwe saying it was cruelly executed as it left a
lot of people homeless and others without sources of income.

They
also called for the need to work with the Zimbabwe business community at
home and abroad to build their capacity to survive the economic crisis and
strive towards improving the country's economic situation and provide
humanitarian assistance to the fullest extent possible to the many displaced
people, as swiftly as possible

THE Harare
Agricultural Show ended yesterday with exhibitors saying they received more
enquiries compared to last year.

Exhibitors interviewed by The Standard
said enquiries about their products were made during the show. An official
at Hastt Zimbabwe said 100 orders for ox-drawn ploughs were made throughout
the week.

At Agrifoods stand, officials said the enquiries were on
poultry and piggery stock feeds.

Agro-processing machine
specialist, Tanroy Engineering, said although there were enquiries on their
equipment, the company had faced problems in securing fuel to transport its
equipment to the Exhibition Park.

Seed producing firm Pannar said
farmers had visited their stand enquiring about maize seeds in preparation
for the forthcoming farming season.

However, their rival, Seedco says
maize seeds will be available next month.

ZFC Limited said enquiries
this year were higher compared to last year. All the fertilisers needed by
farmers were on display save for ammonium nitrate, which was not on the
stands for the second time in as many years.

Zimbabwe Agricultural
Society (ZAS) spokesperson, Chido Makunike, said the organisation had put
480 stands, which were all taken up.

Makunike said last year ZAS had
put 460 stands and all stands were taken up. The ZAS spokesperson said the
organisation put an incentive of $1.5 million for cattle, exhibitors to
encourage them to exhibit next year.

Makunike said the number of
tickets sold were higher than last year as 60 291 had been sold as of
Friday, compared to 57 562 in 2004.

AN online visitor to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) website,
www.rbz.co.zw, will hardly miss the
Central Bank's clear and straightforward vision:

"To become the
financial cornerstone around which Zimbabwe's economic fortunes and
developmental aspirations are anchored."

A mission statement below that
bold statement explains this would be achieved through "leadership in the
formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies and action plans for
fighting inflation, stabilisation of the internal and external value of
Zimbabwe's currency".

To the majority of Zimbabweans who have
followed the activities at the RBZ, both the vision and mission statement
encapsulate the thoughts and aspirations of Governor Gideon
Gono.

Gono who took over the position in December 2003 declared right
from the start that inflation was the number one enemy, and immediately
declared his determination to reduce it to a single digit. To him, "failure
was not an option", as he was frequently quoted saying.

"The
period between our medium and long-term vision should see our inflation
levels reducing to a single digit band of between 5 - 9%. That's our
ultimate goal during the life of my governorship!" said Gono, who
immediately turned his attention on the financial sector to signal the start
of his "turnaround" campaign.

His reforms, announced in periodic
monetary policy statements, first claimed the scalp of ENG Capital, a
rapidly growing financial empire whose youthful directors were evidently
cutting corners to achieve their goals. A probe in ENGoperations unravelled
an intriguing web of corruption that ran deep in the sector enabling those
involved to reap super profits.

In blitzkrieg style, Gono tamed the
menace of a sudden and worrying shortage of local currency bank notes by
introducing high denomination bearer cheques as a "temporary measure." This
was quickly followed by the Homelink money-transfer scheme which, by
enticing Zimbabweans working abroad to remit their earnings back home
through official channels, it was touted as the panacea to foreign currency
scarcities.

For a while, everything seemed to work. Inflation dropped
from an all time high of 622% in January 2004 to 123% in March
2005.

Riding on the crest of this and other achievements, Gono
suddenly assumed greater prominence virtually becoming the de facto Minister
of Finance as his powers encroached into fiscal policy formulation,
traditionally the prerogative of a cabinet minister responsible for
finance.

But like all mortals, Gono seems to be losing his
grip.

Inflation, his declared number one enemy, appears to be
slipping away from his control while foreign currency reserves have dried up
despite the hype surrounding Homelink.

The flourishing foreign
currency black market, which he vowed to exterminate has simply gone
underground, following the government's widely condemned "Operation
Murambatsvina" and the US dollar is now fetching $47 000 to the Zimbabwe
dollar.

His strict supervision of the financial sector has not
yielded results as more asset management firms continue to
tumble.

To add to his woes, his own "baby" the Zimbabwe Allied
Banking Group (ZABG), an amalgamation of banks - Royal, Barbican and Trust
-continues to face mounting operational problems.

While he might
not admit it in public, Gono is facing the bitter truth that as long as Zanu
PF is in power and pursuing its self-serving policies, he can never succeed
in his quest to bring Zimbabwe back to the path of economic
growth.

President Robert Mugabe, who at one time boasted that no-one
could manage the economy better than he did, remains steadfastly against
allowing market forces to determine interest rates, leaving Gono's hands
tied.

A managed system allows the government to borrow cheaply from
the market.

"He (Gono) is trying to make bad ideas work, it's not his
fault. Anyone in his position would not have succeeded," economist John
Robertson said, adding that political interference remained Gono's major
handicap.

"If I was in his position, I would try my best to convince
the master (Mugabe) to change his ideas. Maybe, Mugabe has decided to change
his mind because Gono has of late, made significant changes to the interest
rates."

Announcing his monetary policy statement in July, the
governor increased interest rates to nearly 200 percent and devalued the
dollar to $17 500 to the US$. The devaluation of the dollar continued on the
managed foreign auction where it is now trading at $24 000 to the green
back.

The government has a history of carrying out expensive and
unplanned programmes, aimed at consolidating its dominance of the political
landscape.

Analysts fear this will increase money supply growth and
consequently fuel a further rise in inflation thereby defeating Gono's
efforts.

Daniel Ndlela, an independent economic analyst says Gono was
never going to succeed because the government had destroyed the agricultural
sector and undermined property rights. "He thought he was going to perform a
miracle despite economic fundamentals which were bound to accelerate
inflation and depreciate the Zimbabwe dollar further thereby removing the
basis for an economy to function properly. He faces ultimate failure,"
Ndlela said.

He added: "Gono has gone full cycle. He can't get out of
the circle. It has closed. He has said all that he had to
say."

As Gono plans his next move in his tough battle with runaway
inflation, it might as well be time for him to revise his boastful refrain
that "failure is not an option"as failure is now a real possibility staring
him in the face as long as Zanu PF remains in power against popular will,
Gono's critics say.

Investor confidence continues to dissipate
and critics warn that nothing short of a change in the political leadership
will rescue the country from its worst economic crisis.

Credited
with turning around the fortunes of the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ),
which he renamed "Jewel Bank" the governor remains a man who cannot be moved
away from his vision.

"As for some of us, we have said and will
continue to say with abundant determination that God willing, we will not
rest until the job is done! Failure is not an option!" Gono reminded The
Standard.

LITIGATION against local authorities for demolitions of houses
during the "clean-up" operation, which reportedly rendered 700 000 people
homeless, has been slowed down by the need to engage independent property
valuers, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has said.

ZLHR
public interest litigation lawyer, Rangu Nyamurundira, said most of the
people, whose buildings were destroyed, are very poor and find it difficult
to hire private assessors.

He said the courts would need the value of
the structures to determine the amount of compensation.

"With the
majority of the people failing to put food on the table, to get some funds
to engage an independent assessor is very difficult," Nyamurundira
said.

The ZLHR official said very few people had already hired
private assessors but the organisation was working on modalities to assist
those who cannot do it on their own.

"It is costly for poor
people because obviously after their properties were destroyed, they have
very little to fall back on in terms of financial and material resources,"
said the official.

About 70 percent of Zimbabweans live below the
poverty datum line.

The ZLHR is handling litigation cases for
co-operatives and individuals, whose properties were illegally demolished in
Harare, Goromonzi and Norton.

However, no case has been filed in the
courts as ZLHR is still working on the logistics.

"We are still
working on the cases. Hopefully, we will be able to file them in the near
future," said Nyamurundira, who however could not give the number of people
taking the council to court.

The majority of the people had leases
with the local authorities. The local authorities did not give the 30-day
notice to the affected people as stated by section 32 of the Regional Town
and Country Planning Act.

A Mutare-based human rights lawyer, Trust
Maanda, said lawyers in the eastern border town did not take the legal route
following Justice Tedias Karwi's judgment that the demolition of structures
at Hatcliffe and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo were lawful.

"We stopped
the legal route after that judgment because it is precedent," Maanda
said.

The judgment was passed in early June.

In her
report, United Nations Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe,
Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, said the government breached national and
international human rights law provisions guiding evictions, thereby
precipitating a humanitarian crisis.

"The government of Zimbabwe
should pay compensation where it is due for those whose property was
unlawfully destroyed," wrote Tibaijuka in her damning 100-page report.

MASVINGO - AN
alleged love for meat landed a Mwenezi magistrate in trouble after he
accepted a beast and slaughtered it in exchange for freedom for a colleague
who was in remand prison.

Mwenezi resident magistrate, Macgregor Kufa, on
Tuesday appeared before the regional court facing charges of contravening
the Prevention of Corruption Act. He appeared before Masvingo magistrate
Crispen Mberewere.

Dan Ndebele for the State told the court that on 25
July this year, Kufa accepted a bribe in form of a cow from an accused
person, Innocent Mavirimidze's brother to facilitate his removal from remand
prison unlawfully.

THE greatest challenge Zimbabwe faces in the fight against HIV and
AIDS is ensuring that every HIV positive person has access to Anti
Retroviral drugs (ARVs), against a background of the country's political
isolation by international donors, says the Zimbabwe Medical Association
(ZIMA).

Zimbabwe is one of the worst affected countries by the Aids
scourge, with more than 2.3 million estimated to be living with HIV and
AIDS.

Focus on the pandemic is now on prevention of new infections and
access to treatment for People Living With HIV and AIDS
(PLWAs).

However, due to current political and economic chaos in the
country, the international community has been reluctant to offer the
assistance the country requires.

Last year the government
launched an ARV programme in Harare and Bulawayo but, as the Minister of
Health and Child Welfare, David Parirenyatwa admitted, government does not
have capacity to extend the programme to the rest of the country.
Parirenyatwa said the programme needed support from
donors.

Speaking to The Standard last week from Victoria Falls
where ZIMA was holding its annual general meeting, secretary-general for the
organisation, Paul Chimedza, said the country's health sector faced the
challenge of ensuring that every PLWA has access to treatment against a
background of limited resources.

Chimedza said the advent of
ARVs, HIV and AIDS ceased to be a "death sentence" and had restored hope
among PLWAs.

Chimedza said: "The advent of ARVs has provided those
living with HIV and AIDS with a new lease of life. HIV and AIDS are now seen
as chronic illness such as diabetes or hypertension. Things have changed.
The disease is now more manageable."

Chimedza, however, lamented
the lack of resources that had made it impossible for every PLWA to access
treatment and lashed out at donors who wanted to politicise matters of life
and death.

Chimedza was referring to the Global Fund's failure to
provide funding to Zimbabwe for HIV and AIDS treatment on previous
occasions, on grounds he described as "political".

He said: "It
is true we have internal problems at the moment but is it not proper for
donors to attach strings to humanitarian issues such as HIV and AIDS. Should
our people suffer and die because of the problems in our
country?

"We as ZIMA have spoken out against this in the past.
Our lobbying and pressuring together with efforts from other organisations
resulted in the Global Fund relenting on. These are the challenges that we
have in ensuring that our people have access to treatment."Chimedza
said.

The Global Fund has however refuted these allegations in the
past saying Zimbabwe's proposals for funding were turned down on a purely
"technical basis".

The theme of this year's annual general
meeting, which ended in the resort town, last Sunday was Two decades of HIV
- Rising Above a National Crisis.

BY
refusing to confront reality, we learn nothing. Consequently, responses to
national situations and challenges are misplaced and inappropriate.

The
truth of the matter is that this year's Harare Agricultural Show was a pale
shadow of similar events held more than half a decade ago. The reasons are
many and self-evident. But Zimbabweans are masters of self deception. The
success of the show is not only measured in terms of attendances. Among
other factors, it is gauged by the latest goods and innovations on
exhibition, the variety of entertainment on offer and the business conducted
or contracts concluded.

It is not worth the while attempting to
explain why there were so many people visiting the show this year compared
to last year - for many, there is really nothing else to do.

From
the beginning, it was evident that this year's event faced more challenges
than has been the case in the past. But by far the fuel crisis was the major
challenge: how does one get rural communities to participate when there is
little transport to move passengers let alone goods from one part of the
country to the next. Where transport is available, it is expensive for the
rural communities to afford. Most travellers have not been able to get to or
from rural areas.

The next challenge was on what to exhibit at the
show. The reason why Zimbabwe is expecting to import 1.2 million tonnes of
maize and 200 000 tonnes of wheat is because the agricultural sector is in
doldrums. The rainfall pattern was part of the reason but not entirely the
cause of such poor performance in the farming sector, otherwise its
neighbours, among then Malawi and Zambia, who have never been better
agricultural producers would be worse off. In fact, maize production in both
Malawi and Zambia shows an increase in production for the period 1999 - 2004
compared to Zimbabwe. Instead it is Zimbabwe that is in the pits and
requiring more international food assistance to feed more than a third of
its population. Rather, insecurity of land tenure remains a serious
impediment to re-engineering agriculture in the country. Investment inflows
will continue to be affected.

Unfortunately, the same inability to
anticipate and plan ahead in order to ensure resources are available when
they are required may affect the next farming season. More significantly,
where were the A2 farmers - the vanguard and pride of the government's
agrarian revolution, who have monopolised the State's largesse to this
sector?

Herbert Murerwa, the Minister of Finance, lamented the
failure in performance in this sector two weeks ago when he said: ". a
disproportionate share of agricultural support is finding its way to
undeserving purposes, undermining effective utilisation and scope for
recovery. Hence, government remains concerned that the substantial resources
being availed to farmers have not been commensurate with production,
delivery and loan repayment levels. This has meant that creation of a
substantial revolving agricultural loan facility has so far remained
elusive."

As a consequence, the government now hopes to introduce
what it terms "targeted crop and livestock production", intended to ensure
that resources borrowed by farmers are efficiently utilised. It is providing
a monitoring mechanism that has the powers to recommend and effect
repossession of land that is likely to result in change in the productivity
of the A2 farming sector.

The First Lady was the only high
profile person who decided to call a spade a spade when she lamented the low
level of representation and exhibits at this year's agricultural
show.

It is imperative to acknowledge what went wrong to what was
once a star performer agriculturally in the region, in order to rectify and
plan to avoid similar pitfalls.

The government's systematic and
sustained undermining of the agricultural sector is responsible for the
lack-lustre Harare Agricultural Show this year.

The reason why
some companies did not take up the space they had booked is simply because
they had nothing to show or they are just at their wits' end. The few that
did participate did so because they took the view that it is better to go
down fighting for survival.

It would be comforting if the organisers
could quantify the amount of business generated or the orders received from
Namibian companies. The rationale behind inviting foreign leaders is to
interest them in products from this country. Evidently, that has not been
the case.

Unless Zimbabwe addresses the drivers of the fall in
production in the agricultural sector, it is preparing for
failure.

But for trying to put a positive spin to an otherwise dull
occasion, the show organisers take the cup.

ALLOW me space to express my disgust and anger at uniformed
police officers who I personally saw receive favours to allow people who had
not been in the fuel queue to get their cars filled up, when the other
people who were in the queue were only getting 20 litres each.

It was
Friday evening, at Bond Street In Mt Pleasant where I had been in the queue
from 12.30PM. After discovering that the queue had not moved for several
hours, I got out of my car and walked to the pumps to find out what the
problem was.

Well, much to my disgust, another queue had started forming
in the opposite direction to the one we had been all day and was being
allowed to filter to the pumps by a male police officer in uniform with the
assistance of two female officers.

On questioning why there was
another queue forming in the opposite direction, we were assured that those
people in the new queue would not be allowed to get fuel and would be told
to join the original queue.

However, that was not what happened.
Instead the guys in the "wrong" queue were being called "Chefs" and were
being ushered to the pumps by the very police officer who said they would be
sent away. We found out that these police officers were receiving "tokens of
appreciation" in the form of money for getting the petrol attendants to fill
them up.

Now, if policeman are receiving such "tokens of
appreciation" in broad daylight and as much as $500 000 to get a car filled
up, what does the poor man in the street have to do to get an honest 20
litres?

This is a shame and if I had a video camera on me I would
have filmed these officers in the act of receiving
bribes.

Unfortunately, in today's Zimbabwe where the victim can easly
become the culprit, even if I had said anything to them, I would have been
arrested as it would have been my word against theirs and with no physical
proof you can guess who would win. What is the way forward?

OUR most celebrated "technocrat'' at the helm of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is at it again. He has finally "dollarised'' the
economy as fuel can now be bought officially using the US
dollar.

(Smiles there for George and Condy at the White House as one of
the out-posts of tyranny, despite the usual fury that Zimbabwe will never be
a colony again, has finally succumbed and is also making frantic efforts to
pay IMF arrears to avoid being offloaded from the "imperialist" financial
organisation) Talk about sovereignty!

I knew Gono during my student
days at the University of Zimbabwe when he triumphantly replaced the William
Turpin-led University Council after Dr Ignatious Chombo moved to the
Ministry of Higher Education.

With many promises clothed in political
ideology and culture, the man soon embarked on one of the most disastrous
"privatisation'' programmes ever seen after closing down the UZ for half
year in 1998.

Almost all assets were striped during auctions which
followed. Very soon the pro-poor student policies of Professors Walter
Kamba/ Gordon Chavunduka's reigns were shelved and privatisation spread to
food, accommodation and services.

Rich students from the northern
suburbs went to expensive dining halls with good quality food while poor
students from the townships (Sowetos) went to cheap ones cooking barely
edible meals - varombo kuvarombo, vapfumi kuvapfumi.

Student
hostels became run down and raw sewage was everywhere as the obscenely paid
maintenance companies contracted by the tender processes of the
privatisation were nowhere to be seen. Hard hit poor students looked for
alternatives hence anti-social activities like prostitution
thrived.

On the academic front, the much acclaimed academic freedom
of both the teaching staff and students quickly evaporated. Elected faculty
deans were replaced by hand-picked "appointed'' blue-eyed boys. Gono said
they would be heading "business entities" to generate funds for the
UZ.

Instead, new previously unheard of packages, such as vehicles
became part and parcel of the job, thereby rigidly mortgaging the once
respected deanship position to the political establishment. Sadly some once
objective academics joined in the line of parroting State propaganda in hope
of being noticed by ruling party politicians. They are still doing
it.

Surprisingly, during all this man-made chaos at the UZ, some
media sections still reported that a "turnaround'' was in the process at UZ
despite the clear humanitarian disaster that was in evidence at the
institution. I was glad to finally graduate from the UZ.

Things
further deteriorated as ZRP/ CIO finally became the "de-facto'' security
establishment at the UZ.

Now Gono has again teamed up with
politicians and supported the infamous "Murambatsvina" operation. Flea
markets, tuck shops, cross border trading enterprises of the common high
density "Sowetos" were targeted with, to quote a former minister, "the
ferocity of a tsunami''. The little foreign currency found (the substantial
part of it in Rands) for cross border trade and small informal businesses
for survival in face of the government-made economic blunders, was paraded
as evidence of economic sabotage.

Then came the surprise in this
tragic-comedy. With this much publicised rather humiliating demonisation of
the poor people's foreign currency still fresh in our minds, our government
allowed some service stations to sell and people to buy fuel in foreign
currency. Sadly and predictably, there was no apology to the demonised
people whose foreign currency was seized only to hear within some weeks that
the same government has "dollarised" the economy.

Predictably,
the whole "Murambatsvina" project was cancelled as it approached where the
well to do people live. The ferocious "Murambatsvina" suddenly transformed
itself into mere "regularisation'' and culprits were given time to be
regularised. Forex in the hands of the low density people was "regularised''
as the economy was "dollarised".

This is the true picture of Gono's
turnaround projects. Long live the sweet-talking
Governor.

THE government has lost more than $3 billion worth of
revenue as a result of the prolonged apathy on the ZSE.

ZSE CEO
Emmanuel Munyukwi told Standardbusiness that on average, the local bourse
was paying $500 million a day in stamp duty. But the weeklong stalemate
brought about by investor's reluctance to trade has cost the cash-strapped
government $3,5 billion worth of revenue. On average the ZSE rakes over $11
billion in turnover a day and the protracted impasse has sacrificed $77
billion.Investors are still reluctant to trade citing stringent conditions
set up in Finance Minister Hebert Murerwa's fiscal policy review, in which
the Minister introduced a 10% withholding tax on sale of listed marketable
securities, as well as the reduction in free funds after the increase in
prescribed asset ratios for fund managers.

On Thursday investors
stayed on the terraces for the seventh straight day waiting for the market
to signal whether it will recover or continue mired in bear market mode. The
key industrial index continued wasting away on Thursday tumbling 46 189 50
points to 3 813 007 71. Limited trade was only limited to four counters with
Old Mutual losing $2 000 to $56 000. Cotton producer Cottco shed $120 to 380
while Medtech dropped $15 to $35. CFI was the only counter to wear a broad
smile climbing $200 to $1 200. Minings stood motionless at 595 228 66 as
there were no trades.

ANY hopes of immediate recovery of the country's battered
agricultural sector were further dashed last week following revelations by
farmers that financing for next year's crop was inadequate for commercial
crop farming and this could drive many into subsistence farming.

The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has allocated $7 trillion to agriculture
through the Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Facility (ASPEF).An
official from the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) said the money allocated
for crop financing was too little as only $1 trillion under ASPEF was for
crop financing while crops like tobacco alone required over $3
trillion.

"Money allocated for crops is not enough for one to engage
in commercial farming and many farmers will resort to subsistence farming,"
said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said the
estimates revealed that more than $15 trillion was needed for the whole
agricultural sector although the money may also become also insufficient due
to the hyper-inflationary environment the country is under.

In his
mid-term fiscal policy review, Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa, said due
to pressure for resources on the budget crop financing for the next season
would come from the financial sector together with other facilities by
RBZ.

The money under ASPEF being allocated to farmers is being given at
20% interest while minimum lending rate for most banks was over
200%.

Joseph Made, the Minister for Agriculture, when asked for comment
evaded the questions and referred this reporter to Murerwa's mid-term fiscal
policy review.

When told that Murerwa had said that $9 trillion would
be raised for the next season, Made could only say they (government) had
allocated enough money for irrigation.

RBZ allocated $1 trillion to
irrigation but Made said an additional $2 trillion had been availed to the
Ministry Water Resources and Infrastructural Development.

Efforts to
get comment from Davison Mugabe of the Indigenous Commercial Farmers' Union
were unsuccessful as his mobile number was said to be no longer in
service.

The country's economy is agro-based and last year agriculture
contributed 18.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 22.9% of the total
foreign currency inflows.

Any hopes for economic improvement are
dependent on the recovery of the agricultural sector.

CHARLES Moyo, a 30-year-old teacher no longer looks forward to
spending the whole day with his students.

Rather, he hopes that the
day ends soon so he can rush home and engage in other ways of making money
in order to make ends meet.

He says: "The situation is terrible; I'm
living poorly. I can say I am a teacher only by name because I no longer go
to work and do the job with all my heart."

His feelings are
similar to those of many teachers whose dedication and love of the
profession have been diminished by meagre salaries coupled with harsh
economic conditions that left many exposed to absolute
poverty.

"This profession used to be my pride and joy but now it is
just another job," he adds.

This attitude is now a cause for
concern as people fear an impending collapse and demise of the country's
education that was highly esteemed the world over.

Many
shortcomings have rocked the administration of education, which no doubt is
highly rated in the SADC region attracting students from almost all
neighbouring countries.

Most teachers are disappointed. They
believe they have done a lot for the country but their efforts are not
equally rewarded.

"Being a teacher was rewarding. Now it is useless.
I do not earn enough to even cover transport costs," he says with

a
pathetic look on his face.

Major blow

"Operation
Murambatsvina" also came as a major blow as many teachers were displaced and
left homeless.

Moyo recalls the absence of teachers at school when
the government blitz was on.

"Many teachers were absent from
school looking for alternative accommodation when 'Murambatsvina' was
on.

"Many would say there was no point in coming to work when you had
no home to go to at the end of the day."

Moyo says teachers are
hugely disappointed as their outcry for housing loans have not been acted
upon.

As a result many have fallen victim to dubious housing
co-operatives, which take their money.

The Progressive Teachers'
Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe confirmed not one
teacher had come out and confirmed they benefited under "Operation Garikai"
to provide shelter for victims displaced by "Murambatsvina".

Last
week's announcement by finance minister, Dr Herbert Murerwa, of a salary
freeze for all civil servants was a blow to thousands anticipating a salary
review.

Teachers complain that they can no longer take care of their
families since they earn too little.

Ever escalating

This
is because prices of basic goods are ever escalating and many families are
living below the poverty datum line.

Their salaries are pegged at
between $2 007 905 and $4 325 692 a month.

"The situation will only
get worse now that salaries will not be reviewed. I can only say those who
have left the country are highly favoured. At least they are doing much
better than us," adds Moyo.

This is how the country has suffered a
massive brain drain with people leaving for greener pastures.

In
fact, Zimbabwe has lost thousands of trained teachers to neighbouring
countries while general conditions of education have continued to
fall.

Those who have remained behind are resorting to other ways of
supplementing their meagre salaries.

Teachers frequently take
days off during the week and cross the borders to bring home goods for
resale.

ON Tuesday I attended a meeting organised by the Futures
Group, Zimbabwe AIDS and Policy Project and the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Health and Child Welfare.

The agenda of the meeting was
to establish a positive working relationship between the parliamentary
committee on health and various health related organisations in this new
Sixth Parliament, for the next five years.

The meeting was also meant to
create better relations between the media and the portfolio
committees.

Futures Group and the Parliamentary Committee gave the
media a chance to articulate issues as they see them - that is, our previous
experiences working with the committee during the Fifth Parliament and how
best we thought, as journalists dealing with health issues, we could improve
working relations with Members of Parliament (MPs).

Sinikiwe
Msipa, the director of the Federation of African Media Women in Zimbabwe
(FAMWZ) and I were given the task of presenting our views.

On behalf
of colleagues in the media I made a presentation on our past experiences
with the parliamentary committee. Msipa suggested the way forward in light
of the issues we had raised.

I informed the parliamentary committee
that the media felt that they had not engaged us effectively to cover them
and ensure the media appreciates their terms of reference as a committee
that shadows the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW). Failure to
engage media practitioners was one of the reasons why coverage of the
committee had been largely event and not process-based.

The media
informed the committee, that journalists who were consulted ahead of the
appearance before the committee on Tuesday only seemed to be able to
associate the committee with the public voluntary testing they undertook
with Tendai Westerhof's Public Personalities Against HIV and AIDS
(PPATT).

The media could also not follow other events of the
committee because there was no clear work plan, or if it was there, the
committee did not make an effort to inform the media.

The media
also raised concern about the failure of other members of the committee to
avail themselves to the media. The only person in the previous committee who
seemed to interact with the media was its chairperson, Blessing Chebundo,
the MP for Kwekwe.

One would run into a "dead end" during the course
of following up a story once they failed to contact Chebundo. These were
among the contentious issues raised and based on past experiences with the
committee.

As a way forward it was proposed that the parliamentary
committee make an effort to work with the media by giving a detailed diary
of events and contact details of all their committee members for easier
access when the media seeks comments on various issues. The committee also
had an opportunity to indicate, where, in its opinion, the media fell
short.

Chebundo, chairperson of the committee was concerned about how
articles about their activities lacked depth and background. He also spoke
of how journalists appeared selective in their choice of stories from the
parliamentary publication Hansard without seeking further clarification from
the committee.

The meeting provided an appropriate platform for
stakeholders, the media and committee to interact on various issues and map
out a way forward on the issues raised.

It could not have come at
a more opportune time as this was the first session of the Parliamentary
Committee on health and child welfare in the Sixth Parliament.

I
also believe we have started on a good note. As health reporters, we are in
agreement that this is a very crucial committee and there is no reason why
they should not be greater interaction.

We must close ranks on
matters relating to health because they are issues of life and death,
especially in light of the economic meltdown facing the country and the AIDS
pandemic.

I look forward to providing readers with more informed
articles about this committee and hope the interaction between the media and
the committee will benefit the nation.